Steve Davis has admitted that he has spoken to Mark Hughes at his lack of match action for Saints this season, but sadly his place seems to be down the pecking order.

Steven Davis has every right to call himself a Saints legend, since his bargain arrival from Rangers in the summer of 2012, he has been prominent in not only securing Premier League survival in his first season but the subsequent top 10 finishes the club enjoyed up until last season.

Indeed it could be said that Saints collapse in form in the second half of the season coincided with Davis suffering injury problems and it cannot be argued that without Davis the team lacked leadership.

Having played 190 Premier league games for the club in his 6 seasons, plus another 31 in other competitions he certainly qualifies for a Southampton FC hall of fame based on appearances.

But sadly for Davis who will turn 34 on 1st January it looks like his time as a first team regular at St Mary's is over.

He has spoken to Southampton manager Mark Hughes about his lack of first-team action this season. Speaking ahead of Northern Ireland's game this week Davis said.

'It's quite open and we've had a chat,. 'I played in a cup game the other night and obviously it was good to get 90 minutes under the belt and I look forward to getting stuck into the games here as well.

'Ultimately it's frustration, as it is for any player who isn't playing. That's the aim every week when you go to training and get yourself ready to play on a Saturday. But things in football can change very quickly as well.

'Obviously I am coming off the back of the second half of last season where I was injured but the main focus during the summer and pre-season was getting myself right and fit. The body is feeling good and I am ready to go. I know what qualities are needed.'

Davis's only appearance has come in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton, with the Northern Ireland skipper only making the bench in two of the opening four Premier League games after recovering from a hamstring injury over the summer.

With a plethora of midfield talent now in front of him in the pecking order it is hard to see how he will get much of a look in this season apart from off the bench, it has to be said though, that none of his competitors for a midfield berth in the Saints team have his leadership qualities.

Photo: Action Images

underweststand added 10:36 - Sep 10 An obvious (ut not untypical) situation for "veteran" players like Stevo at this level. YES - he has enormous experience and has been an unsung hero on many occasions, but he has certainly reached his peak, but is still showing good form. If MH were to play him regularly it would mean that another (younger) midfielder would have to spend a further season waiting on the sidelines until he played out his contract. MH is still experimenting with his midfield options, and doesn't seem to have found his ideal combination yet. Nothing wrong with that in my book, and if one of the current crop gets a major injury, or a dramatic loss of form then Stevo may find himself back in the frame again. There is no quick fix, but hopefully - a suitable solution will be found.

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helpineedsomebody added 10:57 - Sep 10 SD is the only midfielder we have that moves the ball forward & through the middle sadly we have only one forward player up front so whats the point of playing him their no one to pass there , but under MH system we have 7 players allways in front of our goalkeeper . no wonder he got rid of 3 attacking players . did he as a player learn this system from playing under SAF / barcelona becouse ive never seen man utd play like that in my life.

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Sanguin added 11:47 - Sep 10 He still works incredibly hard, but I think his form has been slowly dipping over the past few years. I don’t think many Saints fans would put him in their starting 11. I’d still like to see him get more game time from the bench though. I was incredulous that we didn’t bring him on to help see the game out against Palace.
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Nomaesaints added 13:31 - Sep 10 Watched most of the Northern Ireland versus Bosnia & Herzegovina and although NI lost 2-0 they had enough chances to win by 3 or 4 as they dominated the game. Steve Davis had a superb game and I think he still has a lot to give to the Saints.
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amsterdamsaint added 14:24 - Sep 10 Yeah, Davis was great against Bosnia. N.I. very unlucky. Btw, it was 2-1
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